o these atrocities.
This I know by means of Chung, whom I usually took out with me. The
tenor, as he translated, was this:--"To the soldiers and subjects of
the Celestial Lord of the Dragon Throne. So much for every Japanese
dog alive. So much for his head or hand. In the name of the Sacred Son
of Heaven," etc. Then came the date and the signature of the Taotai.
The exact amount of the rewards I forget. I think it was fifty taels
for a live prisoner, and a less amount for heads or hands. The bodies
of the Japanese soldiers killed in encounters with the enemy as they
closed on the place, were often found minus the head or right hand,
sometimes both, besides being ferociously gashed and slashed. Corpses
were still hanging on the trees when the fortress fell, and it is not
surprising that their former comrades should have been maddened by the
sight, though of course the officers are greatly to blame for
permitting the fearful retaliation which ensued to be carried to such
lengths. The massacre seems to have been allowed to continue
unchecked until no more victims could be found.

This, however, is to anticipate. On the 19th the enemy were close upon
the forts, and everything was bustle and commotion. Business was
suspended nearly everywhere, and the movements of the troops were the
chief attraction. Great crowds gathered in the vicinity of the
general's pavilion overlooking the parade-ground, where a council was
held in the afternoon. A strong armed force held back the mob. All the
principal military officers arrived from their posts at the head of
their staffs one by one. The Taotai was brought from his residence in
a magnificent sedan-chair, carried by ten or twelve bearers. The
pavilion itself is a splendid structure, adorned with the most gaudy
and brilliant colours, and covered with Chinese characters beautifully
worked in gold. The consultation lasted for at least three hours. I
had only a distant view of Kung over the heads of the soldiers. The
fighting outside continued, and on the next day more Japanese corpses
had been brought in by the vengeful soldiery, and left for the rabble
to amuse themselves with. I do not think that any Japanese was brought
into the town alive.

Towards noon the next day (20th) the first guns were heard. Cannon
rumbled away in the distance all the afternoon, ceasing as night came
on. A wild and anxious night it was. There was no certain news of the
fighting, and the most contradictory r